Improvement in means for defending harbors and river-channels



- A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

n. H. Jnwnrr, or Mourir STERLING, ILLINOIS.

, IMPROVEMENT IN MEANS FOR DEFENDlNG HARBORS AND RIVER-CHANNELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,816, dated September8, 1863; antedated April 29, 1863.

To callwhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, E. H. JEWETT, of Mount Sterling, in the county ofBrown and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Harbor-Defenses; and I do hereby declare thatthefollowing is at'nll,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a plan view of a harbor-defense, constructed according Q0 myinvention. Fig. 2 is a rear View ot' a portion ofthe same. Fig. 3 is atransverse vertical section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention consists in the employment as a harbor-defense, of one ormore vessels provided with ports through which they may be filled withwater for sinking them across the mouth or channel of the harbor, andwith pipes through which the water may be pumped Vout when it is desiredto raise and remove them, and having' erected upon them parapets orother superstructures which may project above the water when the vesselsare sunk, and serve, in addition to the hulls or bodies of the vesselsthemselves, as obstructions to an enemys vessels, and also serve for themounting of guns or as places for sharpshooters.

It also consists in the/employment, in combination with such vessels andsuperstructures, of a series of oats arranged between them and securedthereto by chains or cables, for the purpose of serving, in part, asobstructions to the enemys vessels and obviating the necessity for theuse of as many sunken vessels as would otherwisebe required, but beingcapable of easy removal when no enemy is near, for the entrance and exitof those vessels the arrival and departure of which it is desired topermit.

To enable others to apply my invention to use, I will proceed todescribe it with reference to the drawings.

A A are the sunken vessels constructed for the purpose, of any fornithat may be desirable, or consisting of the hulls of old but tolerablysound vessels, having the decks and al1 other parts tight enough toenable the water to be pumped out for the purpose of floating them againafter they have been sunk.

B B are the superstructures erected upon the vessels, consisting of aninclined parapet, as shown in Fig. 3, or made of any other form that maybe considered best. This structure should be iron-clad on the face whichis to be presented to the enemy, as shown at c a. in Fig. 3. i

In that side of each vessel which is to be turned away from the enemy,there are provided one or more ports, b b, which are below the line offlotation when the vessel is afloat, and in the deck of each there is ahatchway fitted witha hatch, c, in which there is a pipe, d, to connecta' pump for pumping out water from the interior of the vessel, and apipe, for the admission of air. When the vessel has been towed to theplace whereit is to be sunk, the port-holes are uncovered by raising orremoving the ports b b, and the water entering soon sinks it, leavingonly the superstructure B, or a portion of the same, above the water.The hat-ch cis not applied until it is desired to raisev the vessel, asit would afford facility for its beingraised by the enemy but in a placewhere the vessel would be liable to be lled with sand or mud, a hatchwithout pipes is put on and the ports are closed after the vessel hasbeen sunk. The hatch c, with the pipes d e attached, is to be keptonboard of an ironclad gun-boat, which is to act as a tender, until itmay be required to raise and remove one of the vessels A, to allow aship or other vessel to pass in or out, when the ports, it' previouslyopen, are closed and the hatch put on, and the pump connected and set towork till the vessel A- lioats, and is so permitted to be towed away orotherwise moved to a suitable distance.

The defense for the mouth of a harbor may be composed entirely of sunkenvessels of the construction above described; but `it may be constructedat less cost by interposin ga strong iron-clad float, G,between everytwo such vessels, or between such vessel and the shore, besides whichthe removal of one of the said floats, which can be easily accomplishedwhen no enemy is in sight or under the protection of one or moregun-boats inside ot' the harbor, may sometimes serve to permit thepassage of a small vessel without raising of either of the sunkenvessels, or the raising of one of the sunken vessels and removal of itand the floats on each side of 1t may permit the passage of a largervessel, which, it the sunken vvessels were used alone, might require twoor more ofthe latter to be removed. These oats'() G are secured to thevessels A A by means of strong cables D D, and may also be furthersecured by anchors attached to other cables. In removing` the oats C C,their cables are slipped and attached to buoys, so that they may beeasily picked up When it is desired to replace the floats.

What I claim as my invention, andv desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. The employment,as a harbor-defense, of

one or more vessels, A, each having-ports b b, a hatch, c, -tted Withpipes d e, and a superstructure, B, the whole combined substantially asherein specified.

2. The employment, in combination with the above-described vessel orvessels, of floats C C, applied and secured substantially as hereinspecified.

R. H. JE WETT.

Witnesses:

lA; A. QUERY,

D. A. MAHONEY.

